Whip up this one-pot pasta dinner in minutes! A simple and tasty pasta dinner packed with fresh veggies, shredded chicken, cheese, and herbs
Full of Flavor, Short on Time
It seems we all lead busier than normal lives. Most folks work 2 jobs, if not more. They are busy taking care of the house, the family, errands, a million other things, and dinner.
Yes… dinner. I’m going to pretend that none of you go through the drive-thru and eat that fast food stuff but rather spend even 10 minutes throwing things in a pot and making dinner.
10 minutes – well, maybe 20 if count opening up stuff, measuring and waiting for the liquid to come to a boil but it’s not like you’re standing over the stove the whole time. This is a meal for you (and me).
This pasta dish is SO EASY and yet so incredibly delicious that I knew I had to share it immediately. So in, 3 days I made this recipe 7 times just to make sure I had the perfect recipe.
Grab Your Ingredients
This recipe uses pretty basic pantry and fridge ingredients. In the substitutions section below I’ll give suggestions on things to omit/swap/add.
- Pasta – I went with corkscrew but you can pretty much use any pasta noodle that takes about 9-12 minutes to cook. You want it to be al dente. *NOTE: I’ve not tested this on gluten-free pasta
- Veggierally went out to my garden and just grabbed stuff. Tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, and shallots
- Seasonings & Herbs
- Stock – I went with chicken stock but you could go with vegetarian
- Chicken – this is optional and obviously omit it if you’re making this vegetarian or vegan. I added it because I had a ton on hand and wanted protein in it
- Dairy – Just a pat of butter and some grated cheese to make it more velvety in texture. Vegans cover your eyes (or use vegan cheese & butter)
This Could Not Be Any Easier To Make!
For real, the longest part of this was slicing the zucchini, tomatoes, shallots, and garlic which took maybe 5 minutes.
- To a large pot, add the noodles, veggies, herbs, seasoning, and chicken.
- Pour the stock in and place it over high heat.
Seriously, Just Boil
- Cook this per your pasta box directions. My corkscrew pasta took 11 minutes. So for pasta like this estimate 9-12 minutes.
- Give it a stir to ensure that it doesn’t stick – just like you do when you cook regular pasta.
This Could Not Be Any Easier To Make!
- Remove it from the heat, add in the butter and cheese, stirring to combine.
- There’s no need to drain as there should only be maybe a cup of “sauce” left. You want just enough to coat the pasta and veggies.
Quick! Easy! Dinner Anytime!
Seriously, this meal went from my head to the stove to our dinner bowls in under 20 minutes. I had enough time to throw this on, change out of my work clothes, throw in a load of laundry, and make a quick side salad.
Substitutions & Additions
I so love this part, don’t you?!
- Pasta – cavatapi, macaroni, shells, or any pasta like that works
- Veggies – broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash cubes, and peppers are just a few you can swap or add
- Beans – chickpeas or white beans would work well in this too for more protein
- Meat – shredded beef
- Stock – vegetable or chicken. Use beef if you’re adding shredded cooked beef
- Butter – you don’t have to add it but honestly, it gives it such a velvety and more rounded flavor/mouth-feel. If you’re vegan add vegan butter
- Cheese – seriously, I have an entire cheese drawer. I add cheese to my cheese. YOu can omit but I feel that this finishes the dish beautifully. Asiago, Romano, or any sharp white cheese works well.
One Pot Garden Veggie & Chicken Pasta
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 15
- Category: easy dinner, pasta, weeknight dinner, meal prep, one-pot
- Method: stove
- Cuisine: easy dinner, pasta, weeknight dinner, meal prep, one-pot
Whip up this one-pot pasta dinner in minutes! A simple and tasty pasta dinner packed with fresh veggies, shredded chicken, cheese, and herbs.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried corkscrew/rotini pasta noodles
- 2 cups halved cherry or baby heirloom tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2–3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (go with your preferred heat level)
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 4 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 Tablespoons of butter, unsalted
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients (except the butter and cheese) in a large pot, give it a quick stir and place over high-heat.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 9-12 minutes (per your pasta’s instructions). Stir every few minutes to prevent sticking.
- Remove from the heat, stir, add in the butter and cheese, stir until incorporated, and serve.
- Store any leftovers covered in the fridge.
Keywords: One Pot Garden Veggie & Chicken Pasta, one-pot pasta, quick pasta dinner, weeknight dinners, easy recipes, one pot pasta chicken, one pot pasta recipes, quick dinner recipes
This is one of the easiest recipes to make on a busy night. I used leftover rotisserie chicken from a previous meal. Followed the directions, easy peas! Loved the flavor! The only thing I would do next time is add the zucchini and basil later in the cook time as it was a little too over done.
Oh that’s a great time-saving tip too! Love it! And absolutely you can add those later on if you want more ‘crunch’. So happy you loved it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This is one of the easiest pasta dishes I’ve ever made. I made the chicken version for my boyfriend then a vegan chicken one for myself. It was so delicious!
★★★★★